What is a Silicon Carbide Reaction Sintering Furnace?

02-24-2025       Author: KJ technology

Silicon carbide reaction sintering furnace is a key equipment for preparing silicon carbide materials. It mainly uses chemical reactions to convert raw materials into silicon carbide products under high temperature. The following is a detailed introduction about it:

Working principle

- **Chemical reaction principle**: Silicon-containing and carbon-containing materials are used as raw materials, usually silicon powder and carbon powder, etc., to react chemically under high temperature and certain atmosphere conditions to generate silicon carbide. The main reaction equation is: \(Si + C \stackrel{high temperature}{=\!=\!=} SiC\). During the reaction, silicon and carbon atoms gradually form a silicon carbide crystal structure through diffusion, bonding and other processes.

- **Heating principle**: Generally, resistance heating, induction heating and other methods are used. Resistance heating uses electric current to generate heat through a resistance heating element, so that the material in the furnace reaches the high temperature required for the reaction. Induction heating uses an alternating magnetic field to generate an induced current in the heated object, and then generates Joule heat to heat the material, which has the advantages of fast heating speed and precise temperature control.

Structural composition

- **Furnace**: It is the space where the reaction takes place. It is usually made of high temperature resistant and corrosion resistant materials, such as ceramic fibers or ceramic plates made of boron nitride, silicon carbide, etc., which can withstand high temperature and erosion during chemical reactions to ensure the sealing and thermal insulation performance of the furnace.

- **Heating system**: It includes heating elements and temperature control systems. Heating elements such as molybdenum wire, silicon carbon rod, graphite heating element, etc. are selected according to different heating methods and temperature requirements. The temperature control system consists of thermocouples, temperature sensors, controllers, etc., which can accurately measure and control the temperature in the furnace to ensure that the reaction is carried out within the set temperature range.

- **Atmosphere control system**: It is used to control the gas atmosphere in the furnace. Usually, inert gases such as argon and nitrogen are introduced to prevent the raw materials and products from being oxidized at high temperatures. At the same time, the reaction can be affected by adjusting the pressure and composition of the atmosphere.

- **Feeding and discharging device**: It is responsible for feeding the raw materials into the furnace and taking out the products after the reaction. The feeding device must ensure that the raw materials enter the furnace evenly and stably, and the discharging device needs to smoothly take out the product under high temperature and complex environment after reaction, while minimizing the impact on the temperature and atmosphere in the furnace.

Application field

- **Ceramic material preparation**: used to produce high-performance silicon carbide ceramic products, such as ceramic cutting tools, ceramic bearings, ceramic molds, etc. These silicon carbide ceramic products have excellent properties such as high hardness, high strength, high temperature resistance, and corrosion resistance, and are widely used in mechanical processing, aerospace, automobile and other fields.

- **Semiconductor industry**: Silicon carbide is an important wide bandgap semiconductor material. Silicon carbide reaction sintering furnace can be used to prepare silicon carbide substrate materials, providing basic materials for the manufacture of high-performance semiconductor devices such as power transistors and light-emitting diodes.

- **Refractory material production**: The production of silicon carbide refractory materials is used for the lining of kilns, furnaces and other equipment in high-temperature industrial fields such as metallurgy, glass, and ceramics, which can improve the high temperature resistance and corrosion resistance of the equipment and extend the service life of the equipment.